NeilMH

Hello sparky350z. Wallington is a good place - many fine, upstanding, handsome and intelligent people have lived there at some point in the past

Heading towards Croydon - 06 reg. Is it the same person driving up and down the A23 for their and my amusement?

I'm intrigued by the black car behind the silver Elan (the picture with the blue Escort in it). It looks a bit like an Alfasud Sprint but the badge looks more like Lancia or is it neither of those?

For some reason stories like this give me a disproportionate amount of pleasure

Very pleased you got it all sorted out. This is the perfect demonstration of how much difference tyres can make to a car.

Still waiting to spot someone who then claims to be the actual victim.... this sounds promising.....

Heading south.

Continuing to follow this with great interest. Only downside is looking at the underside of my car and comparing it with yours! Great stuff.

There is a guide to how to change the plugs in the Guides section (FAQ). A competent DIYer should be fine doing this - but it does take a couple of hours or so.

I think you will find they are the earlier 050s that have that mark. 050As have 050A in big letters on the outside edge and 050ADZ on inside edge near the rim.

Sorry I'm a bit confused because I thought even the older cars had 286bhp with very strong torque characterstics at low revs. Have I missed something? Why would one only have 180bhp?

The second gear thing sounds strange. Generally you should get the impression of strong pulling power in most/all gears due to the torque characteristics of the engine. It almost sounds like the effect you would get if it went from 1st to 4th. Did it happen happen several times?

I find the odd bit either interesting or funny but they seem to have got stuck a rut with a formula that worked when they first started. The formula means that they have backed themselves into a bit of a corner. It must be hard to come up with something new (and it would be brave to go back what they would consider to the "old model"). Like many things maybe its now run its course.

I like the bit which says "non-human factor". Having come from the "Seven" fraternity, the obsession there was with low weight, as it improves everything - performance, economy, braking, handling, ride, handling, etc. It gets quite obsessive with people getting excited about things like a different interior mirror to save 17 grammes and so on. One thing that always used to amuse me was that some driver/passenger combinations (myself and mate included) would then spoil it all by getting in the car. Lets put it like this - I have not always been overly fanatical on the diet front. So - the choice would be £400 on a carbon fibre nosecone or eat less pies As it happens I did neither. Anyway I still subscribe to Ekona's weight theory.

Whilst I haven't used PS2s myself, research indicates that they are very highly rated. The tyre review sites I have looked at rate them as either their number 1 choice or very close to that. Many people seem to say they would have them if they could afford them. Hopefully someone who has them will come along shortly.

Looks great - nice location for the shots.

Many thanks Alex. That's very helpful. I think I will hang on and wait for one of the other bits of the exhaust to pack up (e.g. the joints or middle box) and then sort out everything in one go. I will PM you at that time. My main thing was just to check there was no other related issue I was missing. Question answered - great.